Hi all,

I've previously written on my quest for an attractive, but secure display cabinet. What I had in mind was a kind of a Morton's Gun Cabinet (wood body, glass front, locking door), but with steel body with wood facade (not necessary but attractive to look at), polycarbonate or plexiglass rather than glass, and better lock (the gun cabinets come with really flimsy locks). Well, it looks like someone read my mind and made something which closely resembles my requirements.

Problem: VERY expensive.

On the other hand, given my collection, I think a secure display option is worth a serious consideration.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=274555

Below is Amazon.com description.

Product Description
Traditional gun display... with safe-like security! You can depend on the Sportlock Security Gun Cabinet! Don't lock your treasures away... keep them protected AND on display! This handsome Sportlock Display Case has a showcase-quality beauty on the outside, but locks up tight on the inside. Interior and exterior surfaces are wood, but between them a 150-lb. sheet of 16-gauge steel encases every wall and even the door frame. The display window looks like glass, but it's actually a 1/4" thick sheet of high-impact polycarbonate... 250X stronger than normal glass. Two separate LoriLock tempered-steel dead bolt locks with Schlage keying keep the door secure. Four 3" security hinges face inward, and lock the door in place when closed so even if the pins are removed, the door cannot be opened. Finally, steel cables anchor the door at both top and bottom corners. You AND your guests will able to appreciate your collection, instead of your security system! Handcrafted with loving detail: Made to exacting standards by a custom cabinet shop in the U.S.A.; Constructed from American lumber, hand stained and coated with three layers of sealer and lacquer; Includes 2 cu. ft. drawer with full-extension ball bearing runners. Slides come out for easy access. Rated to hold up to 100 lbs. Two halogen lights at the top of the case provide plenty of illumination; Holds 9 rifles with 3 1/2" spacing; Interior measures 54 1/2 x 35 7/8 x 12 1/8"

Yep, very expensive to buy and ship. I myself have a gun safe that cost me $1400 when new. It's running out of room though. :-)

Yes the cabinet you found sure looks nice. However for a whole lot less money you could probably find a local cabinet maker in your town/city and hire him to make the same thing a whole lot cheaper. Heck, you could probably buy the power tools, wood, polycarbinate glass and metalwork/locks yourself and build it for not very much money. It all comes down to how much you can afford and how much time you have.

Stephen,

This case seems to be a fair balance between security and display. If casual handling of the items is what you're trying to avoid this looks like a good, but expensive, option. A much cheaper gun cabinet from a sporting goods store will be cheaper and just as effective in that sense. The clear front may not be traditional glass, but it still won't hold up to a dedicated intruder for any real length of time. It also looks like something that could be removed in and of itself by a resourcefull thief. "We can't breach it now so let's take it along for later." If security is your real concern than a steel gunsafe is really the way to go. It's as secure as can be made and most are heavy enough to prevent quick removal. This case looks attractive but I really think it's a waste of money and will give you a false sense of security.

In regards to home safety. I've done crime prevention research for the last ten years. In that time I've learned one thing - give someone prevention tips they can use, if the suggestions are too time consuming or unpalatable they wont do it. Are the swords safer in a stronger safe or hidden from sight? Yes they are. But the case you have chosen fits your needs and is safer than a standard curio cabinet so I say go with it, that is if you can afford it.

Don

Large museums have workshops to design and make cases for the display of all kinds of priceless objects. Might be worth a call to the nearest large museum to see if any those folks will take a freelance project. It can be tough to turn down extra money for doing something you do every day anyway....

Stephen, is this investment a reaction to a past issue with security or simply a precaution against the potential for trouble?

I'm in a similar position Stephen but my main issue is space. Like you, I secure everything in my safe when I'm out of town for more than a day. I've seen several display cases that I'd like to use but I just don't have the room.

I think it's time for me to buy a bigger house. :D I keep my collection confined to one room in the back of the house. I don't want the place to look like a small medieval times franchise, nor do I want to have my collection out in the main part of the house where everyone sees it as soon as they walk in the front door. Fortunately the previous owner of my house was a bit security conscious. The windows are tempered glass ( a few years ago I had golf ball size hail stones bouncing off of them for around twenty minutes with no breakage) and very few of them can be opened at all let alone easily and the door locks are as secure as they can be. However, like you I'm always looking for a good compromise between security and display.

Because I'm still tasting drywall dust after commissioning a library, it occurs to me that folks with limited space could use the wall itself as the body of the display. Cut the drywall from between however many studs it takes to house the entire collection, line the space in the wall with whatever grade wood you like, then just buy or commission impact-resistant glass doors and hinge them to the studs. If you could find a source of doors like they use in supermarket frozen food aisles, you could design the cabinet to fit those (with added lock or latch). Nobody's going to run away with that display. You might be able to get that done cheaper than you could have a custom display made, especially if you paint the interior rather than use fine wood, and can find prefab doors. Any competent contractor could do it. Depending on the wall, the case wouldn't allow more than a single row's depth of weapons, but you could have two rows, one low, one high. You'd want a couple of lights in the top of each cabinet, of course. Oooh...if you use a non-load-bearing interior wall, you cut straight through it and put plain glass on one side, doors on the other, so you could see different sides of the weapons from the two different rooms. People do it with those opaque glass blocks....While you're at it, you could use the space between studs on either side of the display for built-in bookcases for all your arms & armour books, helmets, etc. Woo-hoo! (forgive the crappy freehand Photoshop sketch--gimmie a pencil any day....).

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Thats a fascinating idea. Where do you come up with this stuff....?

And your such a great artist too! :D

-James

As for the origin of the idea--the price of the case SH linked to is around 2/3 of what it cost me to professionally drywall over 600 square feet of library and closet (ceilings and insulation included). I'm betting he could get a sweet built-in unit for less than that monstrous space-hog display. Much depends on the construction market, I'm sure. Labor and materials might be outrageous where SH lives, for example. But if housing starts are down....

J. Bedell wrote:

And your such a great artist too! :D -James

I'm actually not quite that bad, but Photoshop, haste and a sticky mouse turn me into a blind, insane monkey. :lol:

Usually I'm just the resident Deranged Shop-Monkey.

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